Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Objectives
By the end of this unit the student will be able to
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Analyze the characters and their relationships with each other
Identify and explain the impact of the FRAME NARRATIVE structure and the SHIFTING POINT OF VIEW on the story
Discuss Bronte’s use of DIALECT and analyze its function in the story
Analyze the importance of LITERARY ELEMENTS on the development of the story
Examine and explain the ROLE OF SOCIAL CLASS in the novel and its EFFECT ON THE CHARACTERS
Explain the ways in which the novel does and does not meet the characteristics of ROMANTIC LITERATURE
Identify in what ways the novel DOES and DOES NOT fit into the GOTHIC genre
Discuss the ROLE OF WOMEN in the 19th century as portrayed in the novel
Analyze the THEME OF REVENGE throughout the novel and its impact on characters
Social Context
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Industrial Revolution and Social Class
a. WH written around 1847 – this was a time when capitalism and the Industrial Revolution (IR) were the dominant forces in
the British economy and society
b. Wealth (pre-IR) was measured by land ownership
c. With the IR there was a trend toward a cash based economy
d. The IR created a powerful middle class
e. Every class is represented in the novel (farming/yeomen, gentry, middle class/capitalists)
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Traditionally a gentleman (gentry) was by right of birth and must possess and upstanding moral character…
g. Industrialists/middle class capitalists challenged the traditional definition of gentleman and claimed a right to be called
a gentleman by virtue of their new economic and political power
h. “New Money”
Women’s Rights in the 19th Century
a. WH written during the beginning of the women’s rights movement in England
i. Primary concerns: right to vote and married women’s property rights
b. 19th Century British Law – married women could not legally own property
i. All property a woman took into her marriage became her husband’s, as well as any inheritances she received
during the marriage
ii. Single women and widows were legally capable of owning property
c. Inheritance Laws – inheritances passed to sons only… if a man had no sons AND he didn’t SPECIFICALLY REFERENCE his
daughter(s) in his will the closest male relative would become the heir or the inheritance could go to the government
Romanticism, the Gothic Novel, and Wuthering Heights
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Romanticism
a. An artistic and intellectual movement that began in the late eighteenth century in Europe
b. A reaction against the dry rationality of the Enlightenment period
c. Strong focus on nature and on strong emotion as the source of beauty, art, and knowledge
d. Elements of Romanticism that WH contains:
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Byronic Hero – defined by Lord Byron as a flawed character with these attributes
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The Gothic Novel
a. Evolved in the United Kingdom
b. To be considered a Gothic Novel the story must contain some of these elements
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Narrative Form and Structure
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FRAME NARRATIVE – levels of the story nest inside each other
Story told by eyewitness narration
Brings reader closer to the events in the novel
Outer layer – Lockwood’s diary
Frame Narratives told from eyewitness perspectives should make the reader question the narrator’s reliability
Wuthering Heights Questions for Discussion
SET A
1. Evaluate the reliability of Lockwood and Nelly as narrators. What is the effect of the frame narrative on
the novel?
2. What role does the physical landscape play in the novel? In what ways do the moors contribute to the
plot and character developments?
3. Research feminist literary analysis
SET B
4. What impact did the Industrial Revolution have on British society? How are those changes represented
in the novel?
5. Identify the relative class status of Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, and Isabella. To what extent does social
class shape the plot and govern the actions of these characters?
6. Research Marxist literary analysis
SET C
7. Identify the supernatural elements of the novel. What is the purpose of the suggestion of the
supernatural? How does the presence of the supernatural help to define the genre of the novel?
8. Identify the characteristics of the two households, Wuthering Heights and Thurshcross Grange. What
does each home seem to represent? How do the characteristics of the home extend to the characters
that reside within them?
9. Research Freudian literary analysis
SET D
10. What drives Heathcliff’s desire for revenge? Despite Heathcliff’s vengeful acts, does he remain
sympathetic to the reader? Why or why not?
11. Analyze the function of the second generation of characters, and identify the correlations between
characters of the first and second generations. In what way do these characters continue or resolve the
conflicts of their parents?
12. Research Epistemological literary analysis
SET E
13. Some critics content Bronte intended WH to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of loving too
excessively. Does the novel communicate that message? Explain why or why not.
14. Research women’s property rights and inheritance lows of 19 th century Britain.
15. Research Existential literary analysis
SET F
16. Identify the significance of windows in WH. During what events do windows appear in the plot, and
what do they seem to symbolize?
17. Explain to what extent Heathcliff possesses the characteristics of a classic Byronic Hero.
18. Select three major images or symbols and thoroughly explore their meanings in terms of established
archetypes.